but the real question is whether america lacks the influence it once had in the region. with centuries of religious and sectarian scores to settle. lester? >> there's nothing easy about any of this. david, thanks. i know we'll have a lot more on "meet the press" sunday. see you then. >>> there is extreme weather and more misery on the way tonight for millions of people in the south, for whom rain has become a dirty word. we want to bring in weather channel meteorologist jim cantore for the latest now. jim, good evening. >> lester, good evening. the wet summer continues in the south, and of course the preexisting conditions are making it worse. several states, florida the first here in the top five wettest julys on record. look at this, all of these are top five states. that means the soil is already wet, and when we're talking about bringing in tropical moisture, which we are this weekend, that does not make it easy for anybody, really from new orleans all the way up to charleston, south carolina. here is the setup, the jet stream dips, pulls the moisture northward. so m